Cafe Chiarini in Santa Ana Closes After Less Than a Year :-(

For those still mourning the loss of Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach (and their boozy lapu lapu drink), here's another unfortunate closure to add to the list.

Cafe Chiarini, the popular downtown Santa Ana lunch spot known for its spacious patio, inch-thick planks of sourdough bread and obscenely-gooey chocolate chip cookies, has closed after less than a year in business.

The restaurant, run by Judy Fleenor, Iliana Chiarini and Vicki Schrimmer, was a favorite of Downtown workers (myself included) who craved fresh and healthy in the sparse but ever-improving restaurant scene.

They were always busy, so why they closed is only up for speculation, but here's to hoping great restaurants don't go in threes.